New
New
Year 9

Blitzkrieg and the Battle of Britain

I can explain why the Battle of Britain can be viewed as a turning point in the Second World War.

New
New
Year 9

Blitzkrieg and the Battle of Britain

I can explain why the Battle of Britain can be viewed as a turning point in the Second World War.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Germany deployed a tactic known as Blitzkrieg to rapidly defeat and conquer other European nations.
  2. The Netherlands, Belgium, France and Luxembourg had all surrendered to the Nazis by 1940.
  3. In order to conquer Britain, Nazi Germany planned to defeat the RAF before a seaborne invasion.
  4. This led to the Battle of Britain in which the RAF repulsed the Luftwaffe, preventing invasion.
  5. Although Nazi Germany then carried out the Blitz, they gave up on their plans to invade Britain.

Common misconception

British troops began fighting against Nazi Germany immediately after war was declared.

For eight months, there was very limited British, French and German military land operation on the Western Front. This became known as the 'Phoney War'

Keywords

  • Blitzkrieg - or ‘lightning war’, was a new military tactic in which German planes, tanks, and foot soldiers united in a rapid assault to punch a hole through the enemy line

  • Luftwaffe - the German air force

  • Allied - the countries, including Britain and France, that fought against the Axis countries, Germany and Italy, in the Second World War

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
When an area has been demilitarised, military forces there...
have been reinforced.
have been reduced.
Correct answer: have been removed.
are mutinying.
Q2.
Adolf Hitler believed in the concept of perpetual...
Correct Answer: struggle, Struggle
Q3.
In which year did Hitler move German troops into the Rhineland?
1933
Correct answer: 1936
1938
1939
Q4.
Hitler and the Nazis aimed to built a ' -year Reich'.
Correct Answer: thousand, Thousand, 1000
Q5.
The Conservative MP argued for increased military spending and preparations for war in response to Hitler's actions in 1934.
Correct Answer: Winston Churchill, winston churchill, churchill, Churchill
Q6.
Chamberlain’s policy of was a policy of bending to some of Hitler’s demands in order to avoid a war.
Correct Answer: appeasement, Appeasement

6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these were British responses to declaring war on Germany?
Correct answer: The British Army was dispatched to France.
Correct answer: Preparations were made for German bombing raids.
The RAF began to bomb German cities.
British troops crossed over from France into Germany.
Q2.
Which event led to the resignation of Neville Chamberlain as prime minister?
Germany's invasion of Poland
the period known as 'the phoney war'
Correct answer: the Nazi invasion of Norway
the Dunkirk evacuation
the Battle of Britain
Q3.
The German military achieved several victories deploying a tactic which became known as...
Correct Answer: Blitzkrieg, blitzkrieg
Q4.
Where did the majority of the British Expeditionary Force become trapped when Germany invaded France?
the Ardennes Forest
Correct answer: Dunkirk
the Maginot Line
Paris
Q5.
The recent invention of helped the RAF to defeat the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain.
Correct Answer: radar, Radar
Q6.
After the failure to defeat the RAF, Hitler ordered a bombing campaign known as the...
Correct Answer: Blitz, blitz

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